


out of place (but catching up, slowly)

by snapdragonsmeadow



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Asgore has a flower shop, Autistic Chara (Undertale), Autistic Frisk (Undertale), Chara kinda works there, Chara loves their family, Corporeal Chara (Undertale), Emotions, Flavor Text Narrator Chara (Undertale), Flowey has issues he doesn’t plan to address, Gen, Nonbinary Chara (Undertale), Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, its vague, possible child abuse mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-12 16:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19949656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snapdragonsmeadow/pseuds/snapdragonsmeadow
Summary: Chara has a rough time adjusting. Suddenly being corporeal, it’s... difficult.But they’ll keep trying, and eventually... Maybe, one day.Sequel to ‘despite everything’.





	out of place (but catching up, slowly)

Chara sat by the window sail, brushing their fingertips against the soft petals of the flowers they had recently planted. They had grown faster than expected, or maybe they had just grown more patient.

Perhaps recent experiences had put things into perspective, twisted their view on time into a complicated concept, painful to think about all the factors they had to take in. So, so much time had passed.

And they barely knew anything. But now — now, they were apart of it, directly, it was different. They weren’t just narrating for those that were. 

Chara tried to adjust, and they really, really tried to. But at least once a day their thoughts would drift away, back underground where a single flower watched over a bed of others.

The sight of golden flowers was bittersweet, a tight feeling in their chest as words formed and got lost in their throat. 

They had seen him, recently. But they hadn’t been able to convince him to come back. He hadn’t shown up since. Maybe he knew all the words that they kept thinking of, rehearsing in their head to the point they could almost feel them on their tongue.

Or maybe, he was still upset. 

_ Chara wasn’t really the greatest person. _

(It was a statement, and they knew it was a statement. But coming from him it was still hard.)

They sighed. It seemed like that had been all they were doing, lately. Frisk walked up and sat on their bed, briefly shooting them a concerned glance.

“Still thinking about Flowey?” They guessed, “I know you miss him, and…”

“Yeah,” They mumbled, “Perhaps that is not quite the right description.”

Frisk frowned, “So…? What is?”

“It’s my fault that happened to him. I betrayed him… Frisk, I don’t know how I could have a happy ending if he doesn’t.” Chara said, blankly, “I got us into this mess, after all.”

Frisk nodded in understanding, “I’ll… I’ll try and help, Chara. Maybe we can talk to him, together. Maybe we can convince him to let Alphys try.”

Chara nodded, lifting their head, “Yeah… Thank you, Frisk.”

“In the meantime,” They quickly changed the topic, “You’ve been mostly spending time in our room. Maybe one of these days, soon, we can go hang out with some of our friends?”

“Well, they’re… Not really friends with me, most of them, but…” They replied, hesitantly, “Okay.”

“Once they get to know you, though. You know, even with your conflicting Mew Mew views, maybe you and Alphys could really get along.”

“No.” Chara said bluntly, “Mew Mew 2 is superior. It builds on her character on so many ways, and—“

“Chara, I’ve never seen it. Maybe you can change Alphys’ mind.” They suggested, enthusiastically, and they gently put their hand on Chara’s.

“I know,” They sighed, “Maybe. But, if Alphys doesn’t understand that it really gives her depth—“

Frisk nodded, “You’ll discuss it with her.”

  
  
  


Sometimes, Chara half expected to turn around briefly and see a golden flower. They expected to hear a ‘Howdy’. But they didn’t.

Flowey didn’t intend to come back, even now that they were there. ( _ You’re the kind of friend I wish I always had, Frisk.) _

They absent-mindedly twirled the flower around their fingers, the petals brushing against their skin lightly. It almost wasn’t noticeable.

It didn’t help that they were miles away in their own thoughts, staring blankly out the window and thinking, just thinking. To the point they didn’t notice anything outside, not in great detail. It was just… there.

Chara fidgeted, adjusting the position of their legs as they thought, and kept thinking and every now and then even imagined— scenarios, a variety of them and what they could say, sentences they’d discard the moment they actually saw him.

(If he showed up again. He said he’d visit.)

They were so deep in thought they got up and paced, just to focus, to put them all together into something more coherent. They walked back and forth across the room and would stop to stare out the window.

“Still Flowey, huh?” Frisk leaned in the doorway. It looked as though the only thing holding them up in that position was the door frame. Chara wondered, briefly, how gravity felt about that.

“He hasn’t shown up yet.” They stated, “I just… I need to talk to him.”

Frisk nodded in understanding, with a sigh, “Well, you know, I guess we could ask Papyrus. He’s a bit busy, now, but in the meantime… Maybe we can do something to get your mind off it.”

Chara nodded, “Such as? I’m assuming you have something in mind.”

Frisk nodded eagerly, smile wide, “Mettaton’s leaving for his tour again, soon. He invited us onto the next episode of his show, the one he’s making for his viewers as kind of an apology for the break.”

Chara stared blankly, “Last time you were on TV, he tried to kill you with a chainsaw.”

“For Alphys. I wasn’t in any real danger.” Frisk said, “And besides, he hasn’t really had  _ you  _ on his show, yet. So you’re currently the only one who hasn’t been on a single episode. He’s had Papyrus like, twice already. And all he did was spend half an hour chasing that dog—“

“Okay.” Chara agreed, and their eyes twinkled with a light curiosity and enthusiasm, and though Frisk assumed they might mostly be doing it just because it might be awhile before they see him again, “He has a script, right?”

Frisk shrugged, “Didn’t tell me the plot and didn’t mention a script.”

“Maybe this was not the best decision I’ve ever made.” Chara said, blankly, “Though, probably not the worst.”

“We’ll see, I guess.” Frisk leaned on their tip-toes, and in a bouncing manner they went back down.

  
  
  


Alphys picked them up a day later with Undyne. Frisk talked with them, but Chara didn’t have much to say. They stared out the window.

It wasn’t a long drive, but they had some difficulties getting backstage. It was always so crowded. The endless sea of people that were much taller than the two of them was overwhelming…

“How are we going to get past this?” Alphys asked, “It’s so crowded.”

Undyne nodded, and proceeded to pick up a table, “We’ll just have to distract them.”

“YES!” Chara encouraged, eyes sparkling. 

“U-Undyne!” Alphys countered.

Undyne ran through the crowd of people, using the table to move them with force. Chara jumped encouraging, clapping.

“You shouldn’t be encouraging this.” Alphys said to them.

Chara smiled enthusiastically as Undyne gestured for them to take the pathway she created. 

Backstage, they were immediately greeted by the sight of Mettaton and Napstablook talking. 

“yeah…” Napstablook appeared to be agreeing to a previous statement, “oh, they’re here…”

Mettaton turned his head, cheerfully, “Chara, Frisk, glad you could make it, beauties.”

Frisk nodded eagerly, and Chara gave him with a curious look, “Do you have a script?”

“Why, what’s the point of a script, darling?” Mettaton asked, “It’s more dramatic without one.”

Chara sighed, and mumbled under their breath, “Well, this seems like a mistake.”

“That’s the fun part.” Frisk shrugged.

“Oh, and would you look at the time!” Mettaton exclaimed, “We’re about to start, darlings. Take your time getting ready.”

He turned his body back into the regular, box form for this show. Possibly to make an entrance, or to save battery. Both were things he was fond of.

Chara twirled their hair around their fingers as they looked around curiously. Frisk meanwhile slid their fingers across the surface of the pole. It appeared to be a ballet pole, they observed. It looked brand new.

Frisk put one of their hands on the pole, and stuck their leg up in a ballet position. They looked well-practiced, though a little clumsy in their boots perhaps. They twirled boredly, their boots squeaking at an angle as they almost slipped.

They recovered their balance swiftly, steadying themself. Chara raised their eyebrow.

“What?” Frisk asked, noticing their expression. 

“I didn’t know you could do that.” They said, bluntly, “Though I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise. You could walk in those ballet slippers.”

“You mean the dancing?” Frisk asked, quietly, “Yeah, used to take lessons…”

“Huh.” Chara didn’t know a lot about before Frisk fell. It was… interesting. They didn’t look like they wanted to talk about it all too much, so Chara stopped.

Frisk rubbed their arm awkwardly, and Chara swiftly changed the topic, “What do you think will happen on the show, this time?”

“Don’t really know. Mettaton’s always unpredictable, right?” 

Chara nodded in agreement, and suddenly they were interrupted.

“WE’RE ON IN TEN SECONDS, BEAUTIES.”

Chara and Frisk exchanged a glance before they headed towards the source. Mettaton was already on set, and he gestured for them enthuastically.

A few seconds passed, and Mettaton was holding a microphone, “WELCOME BACK, BEAUTIES!! IT’S BEEN AWHILE!”

His form changed on camera— the audience went crazy. Apparently they loved seeing his form change.

“Today we have some very special guests.” Mettaton started the introduction, and gestured for Chara and Frisk to come forward, “You all know Frisk by now, but have you met Chara? Say hello, beautiful, the audience is dying to meet you.”

“Greetings.” Chara said, as emotionlessly as they could.

Frisk smiled and put their arm on Chara’s head, even if they had to reach up to do so.

“Ah, how refreshing to have a pair of siblings on this show again— and this time perhaps we won’t have to deal with quite so many bones.” Mettaton continued, “But that’s not confirmed!”

“I wouldn’t count on it.” Chara replied, laughing. 

Frisk gave them a strange look. They didn’t quite get the joke— whatever it was.

“Today, our wonderful contestants are going to be participating in something new… And the best part…” Mettaton trailed off for a moment, before enthusiastically exclaiming, “They have no idea what!!! They’re going into this completely blind.”

A curtain lifted, revealing someone sitting in a chair. They spun around, face panicked. 

“Burgerpants.” Frisk gasped, and they put their hand on their chest and fake fainted.

“Yes, precisely…” Mettaton said, his tone serious and full of mystery, “Burgerpants. But wait! That’s not all!”

Chara waited with suspense. Frisk was still on the floor.

“Our contestants are going to be doing… A complete makeover!!” Mettaton clapped, “Here are your supplies, beauties. I’ll be over here if you need inspiration.”

“Oh.” Chara stared at all the supplies, and Frisk sat up, “Yes.”

They grabbed the light pink glitter glue and stuck their entire hand in the jar. Chara proceeded to rub it all over his face because, as nice as they were— this, this was for the audience. 

Frisk went for the stickers — all of Mettaton. They stuck them all over his body, and placed a particular one of Mettaton posing over his mouth. Then they go for the googly eyes, much like gyftrot. Burgerpants suddenly has sixteen more eyes.

Chara adds a very tiny top hat because they couldn’t think of an improvement. Frisk ties him up in a variety of scarves.

They reach for something else, but Chara stops them, “There is no way to improve this.”

“Ah, finished, beauties?” Mettaton asked, “Excellent. Marvellous. Could anyone have done a better makeover? Thoroughly sparkled with MTT-brand glitter, improved with MTT-brand stickers and more… Yes, truly, our wonderful contestants have done a great job.”

“And now, our regularly scheduled dance montage with music created by my lovely cousin, Napstablook.” Mettaton gestures to the side, “Blooky, darling, why don’t you come say hi to the audience.”

Napstablook floats awkwardly to the audience, looking down, “hi…”

Mettaton wraps his arm around them, and presumably the dance montage starts to play because he drops the act.

“Chara, darling, it’s been awhile.” He places his hand on their shoulder casually, smiling gently, “Why don’t we catch up?”

“Do we have time?” They asked, glancing back at the set.

“Of course, darling, these things usually go on for at least twenty minutes.” Mettaton replied, walking forward, “Come on, why don’t I get you both a drink.”

Chara and Frisk follow him, and he leads them to a table backstage. It’s a lot like the tables from MTT resort. Chara climbs up onto a chair, as does Frisk, who swings their legs back and forth underneath the table.

“So, darling,” Mettaton starts, looking directly at Chara, “How is it being corporeal again?”

“Okay, I guess.” They replied, “It’s strange.”

Mettaton nods in understanding, “It does take some getting used to, doesn’t it…?”

He pauses, silent for a moment as if reflecting on something.

“Anyway, darling, it’s been awhile since we’ve talked. Did you tell them your secret…?” Mettaton said after a moment. Chara nodded silently.

“It wasn’t easy, but uh, yeah…” Chara looked down at their drink, “Did you tell yours?”

“Of course, darling. I told you I would.” Mettaton smiled widely, though dropped it for a moment, “Actually, I… I’ve been thinking about doing it for awhile. I suppose I never had the courage before… I wanted to thank you, darling.”

“Why?” Chara asked immediately. 

“With our deal, when you faced telling your secret… I knew I had to tell mine, no backing out. Admittedly, I’ve been… struggling with this for quite some time.” Mettaton explained, “But, thinking of it as though someone was counting on my honesty… Made it easier.”

“Did they take it well?” Frisk asked quietly.

Mettaton nodded, “Yes, Blooky took it better than expected. Though I… They were happy, I think. What about you, darling? How did they take your news?”

Chara fidgeted in their seat, “They weren’t, um, mad. But, they still look at me like they’re concerned that I’m… But there wouldn’t be any point to that, would there? Everyone’s free now, so…”

They left out a sigh, turning towards their drink, “...Thank you, Mettaton.”

“What for, darling?”

“I… I don’t know, really.” Chara admitted, “Specifically. But for helping. You’re… easier to talk to…”

Mettaton nodded, smiling softly, “Anytime, darling. It’s been wonderful having the both of you here. We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

“Yeah.” Chara agreed, nodding. They felt a bit lighter about this, if only just a little. 

  
  
  


Frisk stayed mostly silent when they got back, immediately collapsing and curling up on their bed. Chara just stood in the doorway, observing the room but not taking any of it in.

They glanced over at their sibling. They looked cozy. Chara slowly closed the door as quietly as they could.

“Chara,” Toriel greeted, a warm smile on her face, “Welcome back, my child. Are you hungry?”

Chara shook their head, and mumbled “Not really…”

Toriel placed her hand on their head, it took up a large majority of it. She rubbed their head, and touched their face. She still had the hint of an expression, of concern she couldn’t quite hide. Chara tried to ignore it.

“My child?” Toriel asked, softly. They looked up, eyes showing a hint of light underneath her hand, “I just wanted you to know how happy I am to have you back. And… Perhaps this is a bit soon, but would you like to read with me? Like we used to do?”

Chara considered, and nodded slightly. Toriel’s smile, the way she did it — it brought back memories. It reminded them of when they woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep, and they’d stumble out of their and Asriel’s room and she’d be sitting by the fire.

Sometimes they’d find her reading, other times knitting. The warm lighting reflected on her face was only more welcoming, and they’d tiredly approach her with hesitance. They smiled slightly at the memories, and Toriel gently took their hand.

She sat down, and picked them up as she pulled out a book, “I hope you like this one. Admittedly, I’ve been thinking about showing it to you since I got it, but… Well, you’re here now.”

Chara nodded, feeling all nice and cozy against Toriel’s soft fur. It was a good texture to brush between their fingers, for hours on end even.

Her soft and gentle voice captured the story, and Chara became absorbed in it— they hadn’t really read anything in such a long time, it was almost so strange but refreshing. Nostalgia brimmed in their chest, but the light fluttery feeling was more prominent.

This, they thought, felt familiar. Like the countless hours they had spent with their mom, the validation she cared about them and missed them and that she thought about it too, even. 

She was restarting their relationship, it seemed, and Chara had barely noticed how distant they were before they were this close. It felt… like home.

And they hadn’t expected to have that, again.

  
  
  


“Chara?” A small voice asked with hesitance, and Chara turned over in their bed. Huh, they didn’t remember going to sleep. 

_ I must have fallen asleep at some point during the story _ , they quickly realized. They forced themself to sit up, tiredly. 

“Chara?” It asked again, and it startled them because it was becoming clearer. They sat on their bed for a moment, legs hanging off as they tried to become more in reality. Chara sighed, and slid off the bed and walked over to the window.

That’s where the voice was coming from, they suspected, because they didn’t see anyone around. 

The flower that wasn’t there before in their yard spoke for itself— in a literal sense. His uncertainty seemed to fade, and he popped up closer, “Chara…!”

“A… Flowey.” They stopped themself. He didn’t want them to think of him as the same person, even if… in some ways, he was, “You’re visiting…”

“Yeah…” Flowey replied, with hesitance clear in his actions, “I know it’s a bit soon, but…”

“I was waiting.” They said, leaning over the window.

“You… you were?” He asked, like he was surprised, “Chara, did you… You were connected to Frisk, right?”

They nod slightly, waiting for him to continue.

“Did you… Did you see any of that? Were you there the whole time?” Flowey questioned, “Did you hear me…? I’m sorry, Chara.”

“I was there.” Chara blankly replied, “I’m sorry, Asriel. This shouldn’t have happened to you… The resets, and everything it’s… It couldn’t have been easy.”

“It… wasn’t, really. I just got… so tired.” Flowey explained, “So tired of the same things, and resetting… And I missed you.”

Chara reached their arm out the window, “I’m sorry I wasn’t a better friend, Asriel…”

“What? What do you mean?” He asked, clearly confused, but realization seemed to set in, “Oh. You… heard that.”

Chara nodded slightly, and he continued, “I wasn’t… I didn’t  _ really  _ mean that, Chara. I care about you—“

“Asriel, it’s okay.” They interrupted, “We’ve both made mistakes, haven’t we…? And, you were right. It was my plan, after all…”

“I agreed to it.” Flowey blurted out, and sighed, “Maybe, we’re both to blame for this mess…”

“Maybe.” Chara agreed, “Asriel, I know you don’t really… want to come back, but… We could try, right? Alphys could try to do something for you…”

“And if she can’t? I’ll just break their hearts all over again…”

“I know,” Chara breathed, “That’s how… how I felt, too. But, if you don’t get a happy ending…?”

Flowey turned his head up towards them, “Do you really want to try… Even if it doesn’t work out?”

“Yes.”

And he’s their brother and their best friend, no matter what so they don’t intend on giving up.  _ Chara, stay determined. _

“I’ll think about it.”

  
  


Chara really wasn’t looking forward to school. Toriel had offered to homeschool them, but since they were so young she didn’t want to leave them home all day by themselves, so she’d be switching babysitters constantly.

Interacting with other humans… wasn’t really something they looked forward to. They still had time to make the decision, and they were leaning towards homeschool because they could be left alone, but on the other hand…

They knew Toriel wouldn’t want them alone. ( _ Just a silly little old lady who worries too much.) _ And Frisk… Frisk wanted them in class with them, that was obvious enough.

Chara sighed, and wondered how old they would have been, if they hadn’t… They pushed the thought away, they had to deal with this.

In the meantime, Sans had offered to babysit for Toriel while she and Frisk were at school. He had already fallen asleep. 

They couldn’t seem to wake him up, so they called Papyrus, “WHAT? MY BROTHER IS SLEEPING? THAT SEEMS CONSISTENTLY IN-CHARACTER.”

“How do I wake him up?” They asked, because honestly someone had to be the responsible adult here and, incidentally, it was up to them. And they were neither of those things.

“I DON’T KNOW. SADLY, HE DOESN’T LISTEN TO REASONABLE SPAGHETTI BRIBES, SO I’M OUT OF IDEAS.” Papyrus narrowed his eyes, “I CAN’T SEE WHY SHE CHOSE HIM. ASKING MY BROTHER TO DO SOMETHING IS LIKE BARKING AT THE WRONG TREE. AND THE TREE IS SLEEPING.”

“Seems irresponsible to leave an adolescent unsupervised.” Chara said, and glanced at Sans, “Unfortunately, I am thoroughly unsupervised.”

“NYEH HEH HEH, FEAR NOT, OTHER HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL ‘BABYSIT’ IN HIS PLACE.”

Click...

Papyrus still didn’t quite know their name. But that didn’t surprise them, because he was also originally confused at the existence of multiple goats. Then again, for all they knew it was a nickname for them.

He arrived very quickly, and Chara remembered something,  _ AS ALWAYS, I HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. _

They’d probably be covered in sprinkles by the time Toriel got back.

“I HAVE ARRIVED, OTHER HUMAN.” Papyrus said, and he looked down at them. They were quite small in comparison, as Papyrus was way, way taller. Chara stared at the height difference, “I… HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE. BUT FEAR NOT, I BROUGHT THE ULTIMATE CHILD-DISTRACTING TECHNIQUE. YOU WILL BE SO DISTRACTED, YOU WON’T EVEN NOTICE YOU’RE TOO BUSY TO BE A RAPSCALLION. NYEH HEH HEH.”

“What did you bring?” Chara asked with a hesitant curiosity, with an undertone of amusement and utter amazement. It was hard to describe really, they wanted to know but they also weren’t sure if they did.

“A…” Papyrus paused dramatically, “PUZZLE!! UNFORTUNATELY, IT’S ONE OF THOSE ODDLY DEFICIENT OF DEADLY SPIKES AND OTHER HORRIBLE FACTORS. SO HOPEFULLY YOU DON’T HAVE A DEFICIENCY.”

Chara nodded, “I have a deficiency of chocolate.”

“THAT’S A THING???” Papyrus asked, “IS IT SERIOUS?”

“Um. Yeah.” Chara continued, “Very serious. And no need to fact check.”

“THIS SOUNDS SUSPICIOUS. THE GUIDE BOOK SAYS NOT TO TRUST THIS…” Papyrus mentioned, “BUT I TRUST YOU!!!”

“Already? I was joking.” They replied. That took roughly two seconds…

“OH. YOU CONVINCED ME. YOU MUST BE VERY _ CHARA _ SIMATIC!!”

Chara laughed, their young and childish voice sounding like an out of tune music box, hair falling over their face though their smile was clear. (And he said he hated puns…) 

“So, puzzle?” Chara asked, and there wasn’t a lot of noise other than the soft, in-out breathing from Sans. It was a rhythm they instinctively wanted to follow.

Papyrus nodded, and set the box on the floor. He sat down and Chara followed eagerly, because any distraction would be better than pacing around their room and waiting for Flowey, for him to say  _ something _ that’d ideally make this feel complete, make  _ them _ feel complete or just something other than a single knitting needle, left astray and not of use to anyone, really.

The box said it had three hundred pieces, to which their first thought was,  _ That’s too many hundreds. There’s a limit. _

Papyrus was enthuastic, but carefully took the puzzle out of the box in a way that reminded them he was still tidy, and as babysitter not supposed to trash the place. As long as he didn’t have to use the ‘bathroom’ they’d probably be fine. (Chara didn’t have anything against windows, so they weren’t rooting for it.)

The puzzle seemed to be new, judging by the plastic bag. He sliced it open with a bone, and Chara watched wide-eyed as he dumped the pieces onto the ground, “ARE YOU PREPARED, OTHER HUMAN?”

“Absolutely.” 

Chara started by trying to match the pieces by colour, and separate them into piles because that’s how they used to do puzzles with Asriel. He’d always get annoyed at how long they took just to organize it… As a sibling, that was part of why they did it.

Papyrus, however, seemed to have the same thing in mind.  _ YOU CAN’T SPELL ‘PREPARED’ WITHOUT SEVERAL LETTERS FROM MY NAME. _

Chara connected two of the puzzle pieces, and the picture gradually became a little clearer. Not by much, but it was a start. The next piece they grabbed didn’t quite fit…

_ It’s me, _ They joked in their head, as the puzzle piece’s attempts to fit with the others were ineffective. Perhaps they were better at making these kinds of connections, instead of the actual puzzle connections.

“SO, FRISK’S SIBLING!” Papyrus started, “I. HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO SAY. I JUST FEEL LIKE I SHOULD BE SAYING SOMETHING HERE.”

Chara nodded slightly in understanding, searching and scattering puzzle pieces for the next one.

“HOW DID YOU MEET FRISK?”

“I feel like that’s a long story.” Chara said, and then changed the topic because they really, really didn’t want to go into all the details required to complete  _ that  _ puzzle, “...You know, I think this is the first puzzle I’ve done in a long time.”

“PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU WERE INCORPOREAL. DO THEY MAKE GHOST PUZZLES? THEY SHOULD MAKE GHOST PUZZLES.” Papyrus replied, somehow done a large section of the puzzle already, “IT’S NOT FAIR IF GHOSTS DON’T HAVE TO PARTICIPATE.”

“Exactly.” They agreed. They stayed silent for awhile, not having much to say because they were trying to focus on the puzzle, and it wasn’t working.

“SOMETHING WRONG, HUMAN?”

“No,” They said automatically, and then hesitated. Papyrus was persistent, and… Maybe, he knew a thing or two about this, “I… Just thinking, is all.”

“OH.” Papyrus replied, “WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT???”

Chara sighed, “You know, um. It’s just... I don’t quite fit yet, I guess. I mean… So many things have changed, and I’m not used to interacting with anyone but Frisk. Since I was… incorporeal, I learned more about you… than anyone did with me.”

“OH. HOW PUZZLING… AT LEAST WE CAN LEARN THINGS ABOUT YOU NOW, RIGHT??” Papyrus smiled widely, “THEN YOU CAN BE MY VERY COOL FRIEND TOO!!!”

Papyrus stayed silent for a minute, and then added, “AS STRANGE AS IT MAY SEEM… I WAS ALSO ‘OUT OF PLACE’ AT ONE POINT.”

“Really?” 

“I KNOW, SURPRISING ISN’T IT? I WASN’T ALWAYS THIS COOL AND POPULAR. BUT I AM NOW!!! AND SO WILL YOU BE!!”

“Thank you, Papyrus.” Chara smiled, and though this was all just a little much and there were so, so many puzzle pieces to connect (in more than one way), maybe there was just one less.

“OH, I KNOW!!!” Papyrus enthusiastically said, “MAYBE YOU SHOULD GET AN AMBITION, TOO!! MY QUEST TO BE PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD LEFT WITH ME SOME VERY COOL FRIENDS! NYEH HEH HEH!”

“Generally, children aren’t supposed to have ambitions outside of school.” Chara replied smoothly, “Employment is out of question.”

“IT DOES…?” Papyrus narrowed his eyes, “WAIT, THEN WHY DOES FRISK HAVE A JOB? IS THAT LEGAL?”

“That’s what I said,” Chara grinned, “It seems strange for the relationship between humans and monsters to depend on a kid.”

Papyrus nodded, half the puzzle completed already, “MAYBE ASGORE CAN GIVE YOU A JOB, TOO!!! EVEN IF IT’D PROBABLY JUST BE FLOWER-RELATED.”

“Hmm.” Chara hummed thoughtfully, pressing a puzzle piece down, “I like flowers.”

The sentence sounded so simple, it felt incomplete… But there weren’t any words for them to add that’d fit in.

“FLOWERS ARE OUR BEST FRIENDS.”

“...They really are, aren’t they?”

  
  


Toriel got home several hours later with Frisk. By then, the puzzle had been completed for quite a while and put away.

Papyrus had ran out of puzzles at some point, so they spent the remainder of time trying to wake up Sans. They hit him with pillows, they lifted him up with magic… Although that was mostly Papyrus, they made several puns…

...at some point, it seemed Sans was intentionally being difficult. Chara suspected he was just pretending. 

When Toriel walked in, he was immediately awake. And standing right next to them. 

“hey tori.”

“Greetings, Sans.” Toriel gave a small smile, which grew as she turned to Chara, full of that warmth, “Greetings, Chara.”

“Greetings.” Chara echoed.

Toriel gave Papyrus a strange look, “Um. I cannot say I was expecting you. What  _ are  _ you doing here?”

“ADULT SUPERVISION.”

“hey, i thought I was doing that?”

“YOU WERE BEFORE YOU SLEPT THE WHOLE TIME.”

“whoops.” Sans shrugged.

Frisk wandered up to Chara with a smile, and silently used them as an armrest. Though, being the same height, it was a bit difficult.

“Well, thank you both for babysitting. Although… Perhaps next time, a different approach should be taken.”

She was looking at Sans when she said that, and he just shrugged in response. Chara had a suspicion he might not be babysitting them for awhile.

After Papyrus and Sans left, Toriel glanced at her children. Chara moved a little bit, and Frisk fell over, having been leaning their entire weight on Chara.

She smiled warmly, “Chara, Frisk… I do not know if either of you would be interested, but I was thinking of baking another pie. That is, if either of you would want some.”

Cheers rang out, and she smiled at them.

  
  
  


The next day, Chara went to visit Asgore. Perhaps Papyrus was right, maybe they should start striving towards something. 

When Frisk fell, they had the job of guiding them and if narrating, but now that they were corporeal… They felt kind of useless, in a way, almost like Frisk didn’t need them… They seemed to be doing good without them.

(Did they ever need them?)

Asgore wasn’t at his house, a note on his door explaining he’d be at his flower shop— or, what would  _ eventually _ be a flower shop, once it was fixed up. Directions were written down in an impractical or outdated way.

Regardless, they followed the directions and knocked on the wall, because the door was made out of glass. After a moment, Asgore opened the door with a smile.

“Chara!” He said, simply, and yet so familiarly.

“Greetings.” They smiled, “May I come in?”

“Of course.” Asgore smiled back, and he opened the door to let them in, “Please, make yourself at home.”

The inside was kind of dusty, the lighting a bit dull. The wallpaper looked new, though, a nice shade of bright pink that contrasted against the grey and brown hues. 

There were bags of fertilizer stacked haphazardly in one corner, and floor tiles piled somewhat neatly in another. They didn’t align completely…

What stood out most though, were the flowers. Golden flowers sprang from every corner, the most notable out of all, but several coloured flowers were scattered here and there.

“It’s a work in progress.” 

“It’s…” Chara paused for a moment. There was something homely about the simple flower shop, something so nostalgic, “It’s great. Can I help?”

Chara remembered when they first started getting close to Asgore. They were hesitant, at first — this world was so strange and different, and they didn’t know anything about it or how to act.

Asriel they had immediately clung to. He had a soft presence, but Asgore and Toriel were so… intimidating.

Toriel and Asriel had been busy, so they hesitantly left their shared room and wandered about, following a note to the garden where Asgore was.

They remembered the flowers, so… stunning, really. Their bright and vivid colours scattered across the garden, big green leaves covered wherever they didn’t. Seeing nature survive underground, it was… It was something that filled them with determination, to say the least.

They had tentatively approached Asgore, “ _ Is someone there? Just a moment. _ ”

He turned around with a soft, ‘Oh’, and smiled at them. Chara froze for a moment, before weakly asking, “ _...Can I help…?” _

“ _ Of course. _ ”

Chara brushed their fingers over the dusty counter, and Asgore looked at them with warmth in his expression, “If you want to, you’re welcome to.”

They smiled, nodding their head slightly, “So, what do we do?”

“If you want, you can rearrange the flowers. I haven’t got around to it just yet.” Asgore smiled, “Flower arrangements can make a big difference.”

Chara nodded, and got to work making visually appealing arrangements of the flowers— something that’d make people stop, and want to purchase them. Asgore started putting in the floor tiles.

(In their head, Chara would name the flower arrangements and bouquets they made. Something like… “Golden Flower Override” or… “Botanist’s Nightmare.” And, once in a while, “Prickly.”)

Chara was finished before Asgore was. He smiled, “Did you want to take some home with you?”

They shook their head ‘no’, as they weren’t sure how Toriel would feel about that. Since they finished with the floral arrangements, they organized the fertilizer and the flower seed selections.

When they were close to completing their arrangement of the packets of seeds, Toriel called, “Greetings, my child. I am calling to ask when you are coming back. It is starting to get late.”

Chara glanced at Asgore, “Golly, you should probably get going now. You wouldn’t want to be late for dinner.”

“Soon, I think.”

“Alright. Be careful, my child. See you soon.”

  
  
  


Before long, Asgore’s flower shop was finished and opened. He let them come by and help whenever they wanted, which they usually did during the school hours while Toriel and Frisk were away — in was convenient, they thought. Toriel didn’t have to worry about babysitters, they were preoccupied  _ and  _ got to spend time with their dad.

It became a routine, really. Toriel would begrudgingly drop them off there in the morning, because even if she really, really didn’t like Asgore she knew he’d never hurt Chara and she couldn’t keep them from him. It’d just be safer than if they walked.

And after school, she’d pick them up and go over her homeschooling material while she cooked dinner. (Toriel was excellent at multitasking.)

Chara peeked over the edge of the counter, just barely tall enough. Customers walked in and out, observing the flowers and, often, purchasing some of them. (They couldn’t help but feel a bit proud every time someone bought one of their arrangements.)

They helped grow the flowers, too, and whenever they’d put out new flowers, fertilizer or seeds, if a crate wasn’t too heavy Asgore would let them bring it into the front to stock. They had the urge to pick up the heavy ones anyway… Ah, determination…

Toriel peaked in the window sometimes, though she never went in. Frisk dropped by, though, and sneakily slid them chocolate bars. They weren’t that interested in plants. (If they were selling garbage, on the other hand…)

Chara liked helping out with Asgore. 

But eventually, as time passed… walking home from the flower shop took a very different turn, “Chara?”

They turned around, and there he was. Flowey…

“Greetings.” They said, weakly. 

“I’ve… I’ve made up my mind.” Flowey smiled painfully, “I’ll talk to Alphys. If it works… If it works, I’ll come back, Chara. But if not… You know.”

“I understand.”

“You always did. Ha… ha…” Flowey replied, “Thank you… Chara… And, I’m sorry.”

He popped into the ground before they could say anything else. Their breath got caught in their throat, and a rush of emotions overcame them. They felt… bouncier, so they more or less skipped on their way home.

When they got home, they were feeling excited, hopeful. Frisk was, unfortunately, within a five foot radius. Unable to form words at the moment, Chara opened their arms to ask if Frisk wanted a hug. They opened their arms in response, smiling.

Chara swiftly leapt forward to wrap their arms around them, hugging them tightly with the force of all their excitement and their hope. Frisk, always being like that, hugged them tighter… Soon, it was a competition!

They laughed as Frisk determinedly tightened their grip, hugging with all the force they could muster…! Even if they were just like, eight or something.

Chara put in all their force, too— and the two of them both put in so much force, they lost balance and fell down to the ground. The soft, childish giggling that overcame the two of them felt natural, despite everything that had happened.

“So, what’s the occasion?” Frisk asked in a joking manner, “Did you get a promotion?”

“Haha, no. Unfortunately, flower shop employees do not have a complicated enough ranking system.” Chara joked, grinning, “But I ran into Flowey on my way home— he said he’s gonna talk to Alphys.”

“That’s great!” Frisk smiled, supportively, “Gonna finally have that missing piece, huh?”

“Yeah.” Chara nodded, “...I like to think that someday, I won’t have to worry about the past anymore, or what I left behind in it.”

“I like to think that, too.” Frisk smiled, like they understood their every word and what they were going through. Chara hadn’t felt this close to anyone since, well… 

At this point, Asriel was one half of them, and Frisk was another. They loved them both a lot, to the point describing it was hard, even for them. 

They just had the best siblings, didn’t they…?

_ Sorry, it’s just funny. That’s my wish, too. _

Chara stood up, a quick glance at their bracelet — they wore it everyday, like they did with their heart locket, even if the latter they wore underneath their sweater. Frisk was actually playing with theirs, knocking the charm around much like a cat.

“...can I tell you something, Chara…?”

“Of course.”

“...I know you’re going through a lot right now, with Flowey and everything… And it’s hard to adjust, but…” Frisk hesitated, “It’s just, we haven’t really spent any time together since you came back, and… I kinda miss that.”

“Oh.” Chara blinked. They were right, of course, as most of what they had been doing since they became corporeal was staring out the window and waiting for Flowey to show up. Frisk had been so excited for them to come back, too, “I’m sorry, Frisk.”

“What…? Don’t be.” Frisk replied, “It’s not your fault.”

“But you’re right. I haven’t been spending a lot of time with you, barely any… I’ll try to spend more time with you, Frisk.” Chara smiled, “Thank you for being patient.”

This time, Frisk was the one who initiated the hug, “You don’t have to, you know.”

“I want to spend more time with my sibling,” Chara said, “My favourite youngest human sibling, that is.”

“We’re the same age though, aren’t we…?”

“Well, in technicality I have absolutely no idea how old I am.” Chara replied, messing their hair up. Frisk pouted at them, slightly.

“Exactly.” Frisk crossed their arms, smiling suspiciously, “I might not even be that much younger than you.”

“But… You’re still my youngest sibling. The youngest of siblings.” Chara smushed their cheeks, “An actual child.”

“Okay, Chara.”

“It’s nice to see you two getting along so well.” Toriel entered the room, smiling at the both of them, “I am glad. You both seem so close.”

Frisk nodded and Chara moved in a bouncy manner, “Greetings!”

“Greetings.” Toriel smiled back, “Since you two seem to agree so well… Perhaps you will both agree on what you would like for dinner?”

After dinner, and by extension, Chara’s homeschooled lessons, they sat in their shared room playing games together. 

It was one of the few times since, well… That they had felt so carefree… Having a sibling again made them lighthearted, and imagining they might have  _ two  _ siblings? That was the kind of thing they rolled around on the floor excitedly, for.

Chara sometimes suspected if they really,  _ really  _ tried they could go back to their old save file. Sometime before they, well, you know… But for more than one reason they refused to do that.

Aside from their morals, there was Frisk. Even if they’d get Asriel back, they wouldn’t have Frisk… Maybe, ever.

So as many mistakes as they had made, they didn’t regret them quite as much, because they got to meet (and subsequently adopt) Frisk.

Even if, Asriel… Well, he was going to talk to Alphys. Maybe she could work something out…?

  
  
  


A few days later, Chara woke up to a text from Alphys.

_ Hey, I think I figured out a solution. _

Chara messaged her a question mark, their head all fuzzy from sleep. 

_ Oh, I guess I should elaborate lol. For Flowey. Um… I don’t think we can change him from a flower, but I have been meaning to test out the possibilities of an artificial soul… I have so many theories. _

  
  


_ Really?,  _ Chara texted back,  _ What are your theories? _

_ I think we can do something similar to what we did for you, using tori and Asgore’s souls and their love and compassion as a base, and your and Frisk’s determination to, you know, complete it! among other things haha but this one stands out,  _ Alphys texted,  _ it’ll be small and probably a bit unstable. it’s unlikely it’ll hold up under severe stress, but it’ll at least do temporary, right? _

_ You can really do that?,  _ Chara texted,  _ Hey, what are the other theories…? _

They texted for a long time after that, and Chara asked her questions and learned more and more about souls. It was all so interesting for them.

Unfortunately, about ten minutes later Toriel came in to tell them both to get ready, so they had to go. They pulled their sweater over their head, nice and comfy… The soft, cozy material on their skin as they rubbed it against their fingers…

Asgore had already unlocked his shop, so they walked in after Toriel had dropped them off, waving at her and Frisk. They put on their big apron— Asgore had ordered it for them so people knew they were involved and included officially, but had gotten the wrong size in misunderstanding. Regardless, they wore it everyday, even if it they occasionally tripped.

They replaced the water in the flower vase on the counter, and watered a few of the plants it looked like Asgore hadn’t gotten to yet. There wouldn’t be customers just yet, so they went to help out in the back.

“Dum dee dum…” Asgore hummed slightly, lifting a box, “Oh, Chara, is that you?”

“Greetings.” They stood in the doorway, and glanced around the room to see what they could do. There was a crate of fresh flowers next to Asgore, so they picked it up and brought it to the front.

“Your bouquets seem to be doing well.” Asgore smiled, gently brushing their bangs out of their eyes, “You’re quite popular.”

They smiled, and started making new bouquets with some of the fresh flowers, writing on cards they attached to them what type of flowers they were. They were always very informative and efficient.

Sometimes, they added fun facts or flower-based puns to the cards too, just to make it interesting and to pass the time. (And sometimes, they’d overhear people talking about the jokes, laughing. Other times, the arrangements.)

When things were really, really slow or on rainy days when it wasn’t very likely they’d have a lot of customers, Asgore would make them a beverage and they’d both go into the spare room where Asgore kept a TV and a spare blanket. He’d put something on a low enough volume so they could hear the bell if a customer came in, usually an anime Alphys lent him. It’s how they liked to spend their breaks.

Chara liked the flower shop quite a bit, to say the least.

When they were done with bouquets, they helped Asgore sort the gardening equipment. He let them handle the gardening knives. 

Chara smiled at all the different types of knives. They were so fascinating they could talk about them for hours (once, a customer asked which one was the best for gardening. They couldn’t stop talking) and Asgore knew they were careful, so he trusted them.

They sorted through the gardening knives, remembering their own gardening knife. It was kind of a bittersweet memory, now.

It felt very natural to help out at the flower shop, somehow.

  
  


Chara ended up leaving earlier, after getting a text from Alphys asking them to come over. It probably concerned Flowey, so they did. Asgore smiled, and told them to have fun.

Alphys didn’t live too far from the flower shop, so they walked. They knocked on the door. It flung open, and they had to dodge it.

“Heya, punk!” Undyne said, and she ruffled their hair up. She picked them up and ran through the house, closing the door behind her. Chara didn’t have any time to react.

She placed them down in front of Alphys, who predictably was doing some type of analysis on Flowey. Chara stumbled, dizzy.

“O-oh. H…. Hi, Chara…?” Alphys smiled awkwardly, “U-um, will he listen to you? He’s being kind of uncooperative.”

Chara laughed, “That doesn’t sound like him.” 

“Shut up.” Flowey replied automatically, “I mean, uh. Howdy, Chara!”

“Greetings.” They smiled, patting him on the head, “What do you need?”

“Well, he doesn’t really. Um, doesn’t really… want me to run the tests, so. But, t-to do this I kind of, um. Need to.” Alphys said, “S-so we know how much his form can take before we, you know.”

“I see.” Chara gave their brother a look, “Flowey?”

“Fine.” Flowey mumbled begrudgingly, and Alphys started on the tests.

“This might, um. This might take awhile.” Alphys turned towards them, “I-if you want to go now, or hang out in there…”

“Hey, why don’t I take them?” Undyne suggested, and laughing, “I can see if they’re a total wimpy loser like Frisk.”

“Y-yeah, why not?”

“Okay.” Chara agreed, and followed Undyne into the other room.

“Alright.” Undyne said, thoughtfully. She pulled out a spear, “Are you ready for your challenge?”

“Absolutely.” Chara replied, enthusiastically. It wasn’t entirely true, because they very likely were not but that sounded lame.

“Okay, then. Here I come…!” Undyne continued, and she charged at them with a spear. Chara didn’t really technically have a soul, sharing one with Frisk still, so she couldn’t turn theirs green. They dodged her attacks decently, it helped that she started out slow.

“Not bad.” Undyne complimented, and Chara grinned, “But how about this?”

The second around was harder, and even if the spears she made really couldn’t hurt them they dodged them as if they could. They used to play games like this with Asriel, so they had a bit of experience.

When Asriel was practicing his magic, they’d practice dodging for fun— mostly on their more intense games involving the god of hyperdeath.

Chara ducked, but ran into another spear. All it did was scratch them lightly… Undyne increased the amount of spears, and they hit even more.

“Is that all? You haven’t even fought back yet.” 

Dodging and, ultimately, running into a few more spears, Chara ran away from the fight using their decent speed. They smiled, and winked.

“Man, you and Frisk really do seem similar, huh…?” Undyne said, “Neither of you will fight.”

“In the right circumstances.” Chara mentioned, “This, however, is not.”

“Well, I guess you have a point there.” Undyne smiled, “But maybe someone should teach the two of you how to fight…? Well, I guess not fighting has gotten you this far, huh? But maybe I could train at least one of you.”

Chara nodded, “Perhaps.”

“Well, let’s see how Alphys and that flower is doing. I don’t like leaving her alone with it…”

  
  
  


“Chara, no.”

“I know it isn’t ideal… Believe me, I know.” Chara said, “Getting mom and dad involved, it’s… I know, Flowey. But  _ I  _ did, right? And that worked.”

“That doesn’t mean it will again.” Flowey argued, “And besides, that’s different. She wasn’t trying to make you a soul.”

“Alphys told me her theories, Asriel.” Chara replied, softly, “She thinks by using their soul power, if she connects it to you… It should be able to create something similar to a soul, at least. And, by extension…”

“Let them age…?” Flowey hesitated, “Even if it works… I’ll still be stuck as a flower.”

“That’s okay, though, isn’t it…?” Chara smiled a hesitant, slightly pained smile, “Even if you’ll be a flower, you’ll still be able to come back.”

Flowey didn’t say anything, so Chara did, their calm voice showing a slight hint of emotion; wavering.

“Remember when we used to play in the garden when Toriel and Asgore were at meetings…? That one time, we got so muddy… Ha, ha…” Chara said, “Or when we used to build those forts to play in. Remember when I used to read books to you, and because you weren’t really into them, I used to change it up to make it funny…?”

“Y… yeah.” Flowey laughed forcefully, “...remember when we used to play that game, where one of us pretended to be a villain? We always used the blankets as capes… and the stuffed animals were the hostages.”

Chara laughed, “Ha, Ha… Yeah. Oh, remember when I first fell? When we still lived in home… The first time we played! You talked me into leaving the room, but I wasn’t ready to see anyone else… So we went outside, and played in the leaves.”

“I remember that…” Flowey replied, “You liked the crinkly noises, right? Mom found us a few hours later… She had been so worried… Neither of us had really left the room before… But she was so happy to see us playing together.”

Chara nodded, leaning back.

“I don’t have my locket anymore, Chara… I wouldn’t be able to wear it if I did.” Flowey sighed, “I won’t be able to do most of that, anymore.”

“We can find other ways to have fun, Asriel…” Chara smiled bittersweetly, and gently wrapped their arms around Flowey’s head. 

“Heh… heh… Do you really want me around  _ THAT  _ much?”

“Yes.” Chara said, “Of course I do. I… Um. I care about you, Asriel.”

“Even after I…” He hesitated, “I care about you too, Chara. Well. You know.”

“Yeah,” They breathed out, “I know.”

“...If you really want me to try, I’ll do it.” He sighed, “But if it doesn’t work… Then what?”

“I don’t know.” Chara replied, “...Frisk and I, we can save if it makes you feel better.”

Even if they didn’t like using that power too much… If it made him feel any better, there was at least that.

“Okay. Thank you… I’ll see you later… Chara.”

  
  
  


Asriel preferred doing some things alone. He always had, Chara remembered sometimes he’d get frustrated if they, or pretty much anyone else, tried to help him. 

Incidentally, telling their parents he was and had been a flower for probably quite a few years, happened to be one of those things. The next day when Chara woke up, Toriel mentioned him.

“I did not know your brother had come back, too.” Toriel said, while she got them some breakfast, “Although, I am still not quite sure how…”

“Huh?” Chara sleepily asked.

“Your brother. He is a flower, is he not…?” Toriel continued, “The other night he showed up and explained. It’s quite the coincidence, is it not?”

“Y… yeah.” Chara mumbled, and yawned, “I didn’t know he was coming over…”

“I did not know, either. Which, considering I did not know he was even alive until now, is not much of a surprise.” Toriel sat down, “Perhaps this is a bit strange, but he did mention you knew. Why was it you did not tell us?”

“He wasn’t ready.” 

“I see. Well, thank you, my child.” Toriel smiled, “I believe you have had quite the influence on your brother. Even if he is a flower now, you still seem so close… Well, I hope he will be able to adjust.”

Chara wasn’t sure whether or not she knew Asriel was the same flower that hurt Frisk when they first fell down, or the same one that had trapped them all… Toriel didn’t say anything on the subject.

“I am glad Alphys was able to bring you both back.” Toriel said, “Though, she  _ should  _ have told us about it.”

“Well, she just made me corporeal…” Chara mentioned, “I’ve been here since Frisk fell…”

Toriel placed her hand on their head, rubbing it, “It is a good thing you had each other. That must have been a very confusing situation.”

Chara nodded.

“...I must admit, this is all a little hard to believe.” Toriel said, “I do not want to get my hopes up, but…”

They nodded in understanding, “We could have Asriel back, too. But, in the meantime… I should probably spend some time with Frisk.”

Toriel smiled with a soft, ‘hmm’ sound, “I think that is a good idea, my child. It is important to spend time with the people you care about. Say, how about the three of us do something together one of these days? We could play a board game, or go on a picnic. Does that sound fun?”

“Yes.” They smiled, genuinely, “I think so.”

“Oh dear. We should wake up your sibling.” Toriel looked at the time with concern, “They might miss breakfast.”

  
  
  


Frisk didn’t have school today, so Chara stayed home with them and played. Frisk wasn’t big on toys, but they did like outdoor games, so they played tag and hide and seek for awhile.

They quickly got bored, though, and went to explore. Chara followed after their sibling, who bent down to look at a frog on the sidewalk.

“It’s a frog.” Chara stated. The frog hopped, and Frisk instinctively jumped, “Too bad you have frogphobia. Toads are out of question.”

As it turned out, Frisk did like the game where they walked around and Chara narrated for them. Chara liked it, too.

“It’s a trash can.” Chara observed, and Frisk stared at it blankly, “It’s unclear how this is currently useful to you.”

They approached a tree, staring up at it, “It’s a tree. It’s too tall to climb…”

Frisk wandered about for most of the day, and Chara just narrated everything they wanted them to. Just like old times.

And much like old times, Frisk enjoyed checking things multiple times and the most pointless things.

  
  
  


Alphys was quick to reprogram the machine she used to make Chara corporeal, entirely. It was unclear why she asked Papyrus or Sans for help last time. 

Her theories were right, and with the help of Toriel and Asgore she was able to use their soul power to create a small, unsteady artificial soul. It seemed drawn to Flowey…

“N-now, um, we can’t really be sure how safe this is. S-So, I’m gonna have to run a few tests. But, um, if you don’t absorb it, it’ll disappear…”

Flowey didn’t hesitate to absorb it, “Well, isn’t this delicious.”

“Asriel, please.” Frisk pleaded with him, “That’s creepy…”

“Hee hee hee…” Asriel giggled. Alphys started on the tests immediately, and Toriel, Frisk, Chara and Asgore watched with anticipation.

It was a start, at least.

  
  


Alphys had let Asriel go home with them. Toriel did her best to make him feel included, even putting in an empty flower bed in Chara and Frisk’s room, between their beds.

It was an actual flower  _ bed,  _ because that’s where he was going to be sleeping.

Chara knew it’d take awhile for him to adjust, and such… But whenever he popped in when they were at work, and scared them by hiding in the flowers, they thought it was a start.

And after all, if they could fit in again, couldn’t he?

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> the flower shop thing is based off like, a hc I read on @undertale-in-2k19’s blog and I love it. Accidentally started writing it.
> 
> I think in canon, Asriel wouldn’t become a goat again. He has a soul (partially) now, but still not a goat. Kind of like the amalgamates. His body probably couldn’t take the determination, anyway.
> 
> Similarly to how in ‘despite everything’ Chara gets a physical form with Toriel and Asgore (boss monsters) magic, he gets a soul with their soul power. Which I don’t know if I’ve explained better? So I’ll do that now.
> 
> Chara’s form is made of magic, like a monsters, and looks like they did. It’s kind of like a more permanent dapper blook, I think. They don’t have a soul, sharing it with Frisk. literal soulmates haha.
> 
> Whereas Asriel has a soul, kind of like the process in which a boss monster is born...? This is the best I can come up with, sorry.
> 
> Flowey needs therapy a lot, but I’m not going to put that in this story because this is about Chara and I don’t. Want to write that. But Toriel probably puts him in it after this story. Honestly kinda rushed the ending, but whatever.


End file.
